St Mungo's
by The Hidden Iris
Summary: After defecting, Draco Malfoy finds himself comfortably working at St. Mungo's, until one day a certain patient changes him. After a Death Eater's manor was raided, Hermione Granger becomes Malfoy's newest patient.
1. Chapter 1

It was over. After four long years, the war was finally over, but the horror that it left this generation was just beginning.

About two years into the war, Draco Malfoy defected from the dark side and set out to help the light. Although he was met with some resistance, he was a Death Eater at one point after all, Draco found himself employed at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, fourth floor, spell damage.

He woke up on Monday morning, after a restful yet lonely weekend. He found that most of his friends disserted him, even after what he thought was extreme devoted loyalty during Hogwarts. He hadn't heard from Pansy, who wouldn't leave him alone back at school, sense he deflected. And Goyle, Draco didn't understand how he was functioning, he had lost Crabbe and even when his partner was there, he seemed lost without some direction from Draco. He didn't miss them, however, and with the understanding that his decision was the right one, he pushed himself through his tedious morning routine, dressed in his robes and apparated to the hospital.

Once there, he greeted the witch at information desk, more out of pleasantries then anything. She was an awful woman in his opinion. Despite her position in customer service, she was not a people person. He made his way up to the staircases until he arrived at the desired floor.

"Morning Healer Saluscura" Kica Saluscura was the head of spell damage. She was a plump old women with a Scottish accent who Draco could imagine being a very good mother at one time. During his time at the hospital, she had become like a mentor him, a mother figure that he actually sought out and received warmth from.

Instead of her usually cheerful response back however, the older healer looked at him grimly. "A tough one at that. Some Aurors raided an old Death Eater's home. Found twenty. Twelve men, eight women. Well, more like kids. Its bloody awful, those heartless bastards if you ask me. Only six were still alive, and only four survived the night. I assigned you to one of them, room 413. It's going to be a little more than just a little potion work. Good luck, hun."

It was times like these where Draco knew he had made the right move. He didn't understand how people could be so awful. He didn't understand how he could have been so awful.

Draco walked down the halls until he found the room he was looking for. Number 413. He rapped his knuckles on the door in three quick movements before he opened it revealing an almost pitch black room.

He pulled out his wand, muttering _Lumos_, and pointed it at the patient. He was shocked at what he found. Their back was turned away from him and he could easily make out the ribs and spine, even through the dressing gown. They were coated in a thick layer of dried dirt and mud and could tell by the matted brown curls that this was one of the unfortunate women stuck at the death eater's home. Kica was right though, she was more of a kid than a woman.

"Hello," he said, breaking the eerie silence and introducing himself, "I'm going to be your healer. My name is Draco Malfoy. Do you mind if open up the curtains?" He walked to the other side of the girl and gestured to the window. He looked at her for a moment, her eyes were open but she wasn't making a move to look at him or to respond to his question, so he pulled open the black fabric letting in a stream of light.

Now that he could properly see, he pocketed his wand and looked back to the girl. He was utterly surprised, that underneath all the dirt, a broken Hermione Granger was laying in the hospital bed.

"Granger?" Even against the circumstances, Draco couldn't help but saying her surname in that cold harsh tone from school. When her eyes shot up to connect with his, he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. All he saw was fear.

She didn't say anything, but just kept her eyes locked on his. Even after all the innocent people he tortured during his short reign as a death eater, he had never seen such terror filled eyes.

"Here, let me help you." He said in what he hoped was a much more warm voice. He had yet to master being kind, but he still gave it his best shot. He wasn't a Hufflepuff after all, and it took some effort. He pulled out his wand. Hermione's eyes fallowed his actions and they squeezed shut as her whole body tensed up in anticipation. Draco heard her let out soft whimpers. He looked back down at her. His stomach dropped as he realized her actions were out of fear of him.

"Shh, it's okay." He had some practice with comforting others since working at St. Mungo's, but he still felt that he was pretty bad at it, and soothing someone he used to verbal tortured would never be far from awkward. "I just want to clean you up a bit. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. Is that okay?"

Her body didn't seem to relax any, but she opened up her eyes and nodded her head, keeping her eyes downcast.

"_Scourgify." _All the dirt left her body, but her skin was still sprinkled with bruises. The flesh that was not discolored by the offending marks was pale enough to revile his own. "Alright, do you mind if I heal up some of these bruises?" He received the same response as last time and set to work on ridding her of her visual injuries.

Letting out a sigh when he was finished, he glanced back up to her face. She looked much more relaxed than before, and although her eyes still had traces of fear she already looked much better.

"Right…" This was awkward for him. That was hard to deny. Kica must have known she had assigned him Granger. How she thought that was a good idea was beyond him. He looked to her as a mentor, and had spent plenty of time telling her how he was downright awful to the golden trio during his school years. He was definitely going to have a word with her after he leaves Hermione's room.

"I've healed all that I could based on what I could tell you have suffered. In order for me to do any further treatment, I'm going to have to know a little more." He watched as she shut her eyes in a grimace. He could tell that she didn't want to have to recount any of the horrors he was sure she went through. He could remember how awful his father's prisoners were treated. If it was anything like that he wasn't so sure he wanted to hear her tell him either. He felt a pang at having to bring that subject back up to her. He was sure she just wanted to rest and get back in touch with what was reality.

"I understand if you don't really want to talk about it right now. The important thing right now is that we start working on your weight. You are severely underweight. I am going to talk to the kitchen staff," he purposely ignored the fact that the kitchen was staffed by house elves. He remembered her S.P.E.W. pamphlets thrown around the great hall. "about a food plan for you."

He also didn't want to concern her with her treatment, but he recalled how she reacted to his attempt at simple healing charms. He felt that it was important for her to know what he was going to do to her while she was at the hospital.

"I know it's going to be hard for you, but if you are going to get better, which I'm going to make damn sure happens; I need your help too." He waited for some kind of response to know that she understood before she gave him a curt nod. He was really wishing she would start to use her words, but was thankful he was at least getting this.

"I'll leave you to rest. There will be some food here for you in a minute. Please make sure you eat it all. If you have any problems, don't hesitate to buzz me," he pointed to a small red button on the wall near her bed, "and I'll come running to help."

He started to make his way to the door when he stopped and thought of something. "Is there anyone you want me to tell that you are okay? Family, friends?"

Another nod.

"Who?" He asked her. He hoped she would finally open up and speak with his more open ended questions, but she remained quiet. Sighing he offered the best he could do. "I'll contact Potter for you. Will he be able to get in contact with Weasley and your family?" She gave her usual reply and Draco made his way back into the busy hallway of the fourth floor heading towards the kitchen.

The kitchen at St. Mungo's was underground the hospital and housed more than a hundred house elves. He walked into the crowed place and cleared his throat, hoping to draw the attention of at least one of the passing elves.

Instantly, around two hundred pairs of tennis ball shaped eyes looked at him, all looking eager to help.

Feeling uncomfortable, he cleared his throat again. "Uh, I was wondering if I could talk to one of you about one of my patient's meal plan."

One of the house elves closes to him to a step towards him. "Which patient, sirs?" Draco told him the floor and room number. "Domus will be ables to help yous, Sirs."

A rather small looking house elf with the typical pillow case type clothing stepped forward. She lead Draco over to a bench were he then informed her about his plans of the food going to room 413 on the fourth floor.

He didn't really understand why he was being so involved with this patient. He would never stoop so low as to consult the house elves on a patient's meal plan, but for some odd reason, Draco felt something in him that made him want to go out of his way to help Hermione. He didn't know if he liked it.

Putting that thought behind him, he left the kitchens and headed straight to his office to use the Floo Network to contact Potter. Even though Draco deserted Voldemort's ways in support of Harry Potter's side, he didn't necessary like Harry himself.

It seemed as though he was going to be put in all kind of uncomfortable situations today.

_At least I don't have to talk to the Weasel._ He thought grimly.

He threw in some Floo powder calling out the Ministry of Magic, Harry Potter's office as he did. He stepped out of Harry's fireplace and started to dust himself off.

"_Malfoy_, what the hell are you doing here?" Draco's head shot up from his self-grooming to see Harry Potter with his wand aimed straight at Draco's chest.

"Oh calm down, _Saint Potter_." He sneered. "I switched sides over two years ago and I haven't done a single thing to make anyone question it. And put your wand away, honestly, if I was going to attack you I'd have my wand drawn and have been a little quieter with my entrance. I guess being head Auror doesn't require brains."

"Did you come all this way to insult me, Malfoy?" His face was still hard with anger, but he grumpily put his wand away.

"It was one of my favorite past times, but no. This isn't just a cozy visit for some tea." He sighed, running a hand through his white locks. He didn't want to exactly be the one to tell Potter of the bad news.

"What is it?" Harry asked him, expressing some concern. It wasn't often he saw Draco Malfoy at all, but out of all the times he had, he had never seen him so frustrated.

Draco let out a sigh. He might as well get it over with. "It's Granger." With concern for his best friend, Harry lunged at Draco, slamming him into the wall with his wand out again, this time poking Draco in the throat.

"What did you do to her, you slimy little ferret."

Draco was getting frustrated now. He didn't understand why he was even here in the first place. He cared about his patients and loved his job, but he never went as far as seeking out their friends or family for them or going down into the kitchen to make sure they had the right nourishments, and he would never risked being attacked for his own mother, let alone a patient.

"Fuck this; this is why I don't try to do nice things for your lot. Always so quick to assume." He mumbled under his breath. He hoped that Harry didn't hear him, but based on his confused expression he probably did.

"I bloody told you," he said louder this time, with intentions of Harry hearing every word, "I am on _your_ side, damn it!" He gritted his teeth and shoved Potter away from him.

With a calming breath, he tried to tell Harry what he had originally come there to say. "I got to the hospital today_, Scarhead_, and was told of some new patients that have been locked in some damn Death Eater's home, probably being tortured within inches of their life. Hell, over half of them were already dead when some Aurors got there. For fucks sake, you should know what happened; you're the head of the whole group. Anyways, I was assigned to look after one of the patients, and guess, to my surprise, who it was, my dear Potter."

Harry's face was soon overcome with unwanted understanding. "No. No, no, no." He muttered. He fell back into a chair covering his face with his hands. "Please, tell me, Hermione wasn't one of them?"

"Yeah, she was."

Harry let out a strangled cry. "Oh God. She was supposed to be in Australia and safe. She's been gone for at least nine months. How long was she…was she there?"

"I don't know. She won't talk. I've healed all her external wounds, and worked on a way to put some meat onto those bones, she looks awful. Broken." He paused and looked at Harry again. It was obvious he needed some comforting, so as Draco does best, he tried to leave as soon as possible. "Yeah well, she didn't tell me exactly, but she wants you to contact her family and Weasley King and probably go see her. So, I've delivered my message. Bye."

Draco grabbed a handle of Floo powder, about to say the address of his own office when Harry spoke.

"Thank you. Malfoy. For telling me. You didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, well next time get of your high horse and don't attack me. You're lucky I didn't just leave then and there."

He didn't give Harry and chance to respond, but instead went back to St. Mungo's in search of Kica. He needed a word with the old healer.

On his way to her office, Draco thought about what he had said to Potter. Why didn't he just leave as soon as the wand was thrust into his throat? He didn't like how much his new patient was affecting him.

When Draco didn't find her in her office, he started to wonder the halls in search of Kica. He finally found Healer Saluscura when she was leaving one of her patients' rooms. "Healer, may I have a word with you." The old witch turned to him, already somewhat aware of what Draco needed to talk about, and gestured him to follow her to her office.

"What is it, dear?" She asked, her Scottish coming in thick. She knew that Draco cared a lot about her, even though he would never admit it, and hoped that she didn't mess up too bad with him when she assigned him to Hermione Granger, because she cared about him too.

"It's about that patient you assigned me. You knew it was Granger. Why did you do it?" He wasn't in the mood for small talk. His meeting with Potter and the realization that he was going out of his way for a patient, _Hermione Granger_ no less had pissed him off.

"Always one to cut to the chase," She let out a sigh, trying to sort through what she wanted to tell Draco. "I thought it would be good." She saw his face draw into a deeper scowl, so she elaborated. "For the both of you really. From what you tell me, you are not the same little ass from Hogwarts. I think it would be good for you to see that."

"I'm well aware that I'm not the same boy I was at school. I don't see how this situation is going to improve anything" He didn't see how dealing with Hermione and her fan boys would help him anymore. As far as he was concerned, he didn't really need much help. His face softened at her indirect complement however, but he was still angry.

"Well, you aren't the same boy around new people. How many people have you interacted with that you went to school with since you've changed?" After some thought, Draco realized she had a point. He hadn't seen practically anybody from Hogwarts sense he defected. "I'm guessing not many. I feel like this is a good opportunity to show yourself that you can act like that changed young man in front of those who only know you as that git."

Although he didn't want to admit it, it made sense. He just saw firsthand that he quickly reverted back to his old self when near his former classmate. "And how is this supposed to help her?"

"Well, you see, you will just have to find out later." She gave him an all knowing type of smile and a wink that only served to make him angrier.

He scoffed at her, dissatisfied with the conversation, and left her office.

He visited a couple of other patients, working to reverse hexes and jinxes that seemed miniscule to the spell damage done to his first patient of the day. He couldn't help but think about her through the rest of the evening.

Just before he was going to head to his flat for the night, he stopped by Hermione's room again. He knocked on her door and pushed it open.

"Hello, it's Healer Malfoy again. I just wanted to check up on you before I head home." He walked over to her. There were already two empty trays next to her bed that had shown that both the house elves and she had done what he asked. He couldn't help but notice she already look somewhat better.

"The buzzer still works, if you need anything, I'll be able to receive your call from my flat. I'll apparate back here if necessary." She nodded her head in acknowledgement. "And I stopped by Potter's; he said that he would talk to your friends. I imagine they will make a trip to come visit you soon."

He didn't know what else to do, so he made his way to the door again. "Do you need anything?" She shook her head no. "Alright then, night Granger." Her surname didn't seem to have the same malice as it did last time.

He shut her door and apparated home. Although it wasn't at all that late, Draco ate a quick dinner and then went to bed. That night he couldn't help but dream of a broken brown eyed girl.

AN: Its my first time publish a story, so let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Draco's alarm clock went off as usual Tuesday morning. He rolled out of bed and headed towards the shower. Once in, his mind started to drift off per usual. Instead of thinking about how much he has changed since Hogwarts or how his few friends were doing; his thoughts were consumed by his newest patient.

He didn't understand why she would have made this strong of an impact on him. Sure, he cared about all his patients, but he didn't comprehend _why_ he felt a stronger pull to this one.

Maybe it was because he felt bad about the way he acted towards her. Maybe he felt that he needed to heal her in order to make it all right. Draco felt guilty for his actions as a teenager, but he never really seemed to focus too much on that. He had accepted that he fucked up, but he also accepted that he would never be able to take that back.

He finished washing his body and turned off the water. Stepping out of the shower, he picked up one of his fluffy green towels and wrapped it around his waist. Say what you want, Draco didn't give a shit how girly it was to have _fluffy_ towels. He wanted comfort, dammit.

After getting dressed, he apparated himself to his work. He went through the familiarities of greeting the girl at the front desk and saying good morning to Kica much faster than usual.

"Got somewhere to be?" Kica teased him as he rushed off to check on his newest patient.

Hermione's door was slightly ajar and Draco could hear voices floating from it. Slowing down his pace, he reached the door and knocked before entering.

Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were sitting in a pair of chairs across from Hermione, each holding one of her hands. They looked up when Draco walked in and their conversation seized.

"Feeling better?" Hermione just gave him a blank look. Any hope that the demented duo got her to talk left Draco. Sighing, he turned to the aforementioned pair. "Morning."

The two mumbled their responses. _They were going to be helpful_, Draco thought sarcastically.

"Well, has she spoken to you?" He didn't like talking about Hermione like she wasn't in the room, but he didn't know how to get around it.

Unfortunately, their response served to disappoint him. They both shook their heads. With another sigh, he asked if they were able to get any response out of her at all.

Harry spoke up, finally. "Yeah, she reached out to grab our hands when she got here. She didn't fully grab them on her own, but effort was there."

"Good," Draco nodded his approval. "Now, Granger. How is the pain level?"

Silence.

"Is it unbearable?" She shook her head. "Do you want any potions for the pain?" A nod. "Be right back, then."

Good. Progress. Draco headed out of the room to find the needed potions. He grabbed the one he wanted and made his way back to his patient.

"Drink this for me." Draco said as he handed Hermione the potion. "You should start feeling better soon. Meanwhile, I'm going to run some tests to see what happened. This is going to be a process of elimination however, unless you want to speak up about anything."

Draco internally begged any god that would listen that she would. He would have to test any curse, hex, or potion that he suspected they used individually to see if she was indeed affected. He didn't want to have to waste time that he could be using to heal her, but he would do it her way.

Sighing in defeat, he turned to head back out to the storage room to get a few certain tests. He knew he wanted to test for the cruciatus and some others. He planned on testing what he knew the Death Eater's would favor.

He was stopped however, when he heard a faint voice struggling to talk.

"I- I don't re-remember them all, but- but, cru-crucio, sectumsempra, dolohov's curse, the- the stinging hex, and the dri- drink of despair." Her voice was frail and rough. It sounded as though she hasn't spoken in months, which was probably true, but it was there.

Shock flooded through Draco. He didn't expect her to talk for a while, and when she did, he definitely didn't think she would say this much. He was ecstatic.

He spun around and looked at her with a smile on his face, which was an odd response to watch she had to suffer through, but he was just so happy that she talked. "Okay, good. I'll treat those first." He nodded to her, running out of the room to get what he needed.

While Draco left the three alone, Harry and Ron exchanged a glance. They were both relieved that she talked, but seemed to be stuck on the fact that it was Draco that got her speaking.

"Strange, isn't. Never thought I'd see that bloke doing anything good. Ever." Ron whispered to Harry. Ron consistently had a hot head in the past. He never really thought things through and acted before thinking. This usually blew up in his face, but only after he blew up in someone else's. He currently was stunned over the whole ordeal. It was an odd affair watching your grade school enemy tend to your best friend, but he had a bigger concern. Hermione.

Before she disappeared to what he thought was Australia, Ron and Hermione had some sort of relationship. Things were rocky, and she said that she wanted to get away for a little while to sort out her thoughts.

He hoped that her thoughts were sorted.

"Yeah, it really is. But, hey, I'm grateful. As much as I'd hate to admit it, he's good at what he does. She'll be in good hands."

Harry seemed to fit well as the foil to Ron. He had a level head and was able to act more sensible. They made a good team and Hermione seemed to mesh well with the pair. Harry wanted the best for her. He didn't care who gave it to her.

Ron was going to respond, but Draco rushed back in. He handed potions to the girl in the bed instructing her to drink them while pulling out his wand and reciting the proper incantations for the healing spells. He was happy to notice that she didn't flinch this time. Maybe she was ready to trust him, or maybe it was because she knew he wouldn't try anything while Potter and Weasley were present. Either way, he was grateful.

After finishing up with the few spells, he told her that he would have to come back with more potions and spells a couple times a day for a while.

"I'll be back." He nodded at Hermione and her two friends before walking out.

Draco headed towards his other patients for the day when he bumped into somebody. Looking up he saw Kica. "My apologizes, It seems I'm a bit distracted." He gave her an apologetic grimace. As much as he hated it, Draco's thoughts were still consumed with Hermione.

"It's alright, dear. How is everything, you seemed a bit rushed this morning?" She smiled at him knowingly.

"Things are good. I just wanted to check up on Granger." He groaned. He didn't mean to say that, but it seems his slytherin tendency to lie was lacking this afternoon. "I had a good feeling about a certain potion I wanted to try out." There. That's better right? It wasn't about Granger, as it was about healing his patient. Much better.

"Mhmm." Kica looked at Draco like she knew he didn't care about the potion at all. "Well, I have to go tend to a new patient. He decided to be a test subject for one of the new Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products. That darn shop is keeping St. Mungo's in business, I swear." She chuckled, walking off towards the unfortunate soul the twin's suckered into business.

After finishing his rounds with several other patients, Draco made his way back to Hermione. He lightly knocked on the door before entering. He found his patient's small frame curled up on the bed asleep with Potter sitting in the chair.

"The Weasel left." Draco acknowledged, but Harry didn't give a response. "She's asleep now; do you plan on staying for a while?" He directed his attention to the savior of the wizarding world, turning away from Hermione.

"Either Ron or I'll be here. I may have my wife come up for a while too. We're not going to leave her alone." His answer pleased Draco. He didn't want Granger to ever be alone. Not in her condition.

"Excellent, then. I'll go ahead and do the spells she needs, but when she wakes up I'll need whoever is with her to get her to drink her potions." He gave a genuine smile to the dark hard man and placed the potions on Hermione's bed side table. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call."

Harry nodded in response, and after announcing his departure, Draco clocked out and headed home.

Once home, Draco was determined to take his mind off Granger. He was well aware of the fact that he was doing everything in his power to heal her, so there is no reason for her to dwell in his head anymore.

To get his mind off of things, he decided to give his only friend from Hogwarts a visit. Five minutes later, Blaise Zabini found himself with Draco Malfoy lounging on his couch.

The dark skinned wizard found that he really didn't have any drawl to the dark side during the war. The Dark Lord's inner circle consisted of predominantly males, and seeing as how his mother's husbands all mysteriously disappeared, he didn't have the important connection. He never actually defected because he never officially joined Voldemort's army. He was lucky to not face any post-war repercussions like many pureblooded elitist.

"How are you, man?" Draco asked Blaise. After the final battle, the pair grew closer and Draco found that he had been able to read the man well. He had never been open with emotion so when Draco discovered that Blaise actually seemed _happy_ he was shocked.

"I'm doing well. Oh so well." Draco gave cocked his head giving him a look saying go on. "I think I found her. The one."With his final words, Blaise broke out into a huge smile.

To say that Draco was shocked would be an understatement. He was shocked that Blaise was happy, but this new information that he had found 'the one' stunned him. "Is that so? And who is this miraculous woman that can tame the Great Blaise Zabini. You've been a lady killer for as long as remember swearing that you would never desert your ways. She better be good."

"Oh she is, Draco. She is." Draco was getting irritated. He wanted to know _who_ Blaise thought was good enough to be the one.

"Spit it out, Zabini. Who is she?"

"The one, Draco. She is the one." Blaise's face slipped into another smile, but this one was much more smug. He liked that he was getting on Draco's nerves. It was one of his favorite pastimes.

"Alright then, I'm out. Bye." Draco made to stand up and started to put on his coat when Blaise interrupted him.

"Oh, get your knickers out of a wad, Draco. It's Lovegood."

"Lovegood!? As in, Loony Lovegood? With the Nargels and shit?! You're shitting me." More shock hit Draco. At least his visit served his purpose. He wasn't thinking about Granger anymore.

"Nope. I'm dead serious man. I think I love her." This was definitely not how Draco saw his meeting with Blaise to turn out. This was all too weird. Not only was he being amicable with Potter and the Weasel, he was taking care of Hermione and his best mate had feelings for _Luna Lovegood_. The girl was downright crazy.

"Well damn. I'd never thought I'd see the day. When are you going to bring her around? I want to actually have a conversation with the person that was able to tame you." Blaise chuckled. Despite his internal hesitation to support Blaise with anybody who wasn't a rich aristocratic member of society, when Draco truly looked at him, he saw happiness. That was enough for him.

"How 'bout this weekend? We can head out to the Leaky Cauldron and grab a few drinks."

"Sounds good, mate."

"Good. So now, how is your dating life? Are you going to bring some bimbo with you are you just going to be the sad third wheel?"

Draco groaned. He didn't feel right dating anyone. Anybody that would be willing to sleep with him was a gold digging slut in his eyes. Anybody that he actually was interested in thought he was scum on the earth. He didn't have a dating life.

"I'll be going third wheel. Don't give me that look. I don't want you to set me up anyways. I'm not looking for a quick shag and that seems to be all you can attract." Truly, Draco wasn't looking for a one night stand. If he wanted sex no strings attached he'd call up Pansy. He was approaching twenty-three and felt that he needed to find his _the one._ Blaise wouldn't find that for him.

"Fine, man. I just want you to have what I do. Love is great."

The conversation was getting mushy, causing Draco to groan. "So, how's work?" Draco asked, affectively changing the subject.

After leaving Blaise's, Draco headed out to Diagon Alley. He liked to experiment with different potions and needed to restock on some ingredients from the apothecary. Blaise and he agreed on a quidditch match in the near future, so he needed to look into getting a new broom. People were still not comfortable with his role in society and some prankster decided to break into his flat while he was at work and destroyed his broom.

He was sad about that; the broom was a gift from his mother right before she passed. When Draco defected, Narcissa wanted to go with him but Lucius would not let her. Before he left, the Dark Lord poisoned her with a slow effecting curse. It took about three years to finally end her. Draco was devastated. Although he was unable to see his mother much because of his father, he still cared for her deeply.

At the apothecary, Draco gathered everything he needed. He was working on a modification of the basic potion he gave his patients to deal with the typical pain. He wanted to make something that would last a bit longer since the original only worked for about twelve hours. He hated that the patients couldn't go concern free about the pain. If wizards have the ability to block out pain, why shouldn't they?

He left after throwing a few galleons more than necessary at the clerk and headed towards Quality Quidditch Supplies. He found a nice firebolt that wasn't necessarily the newest model, but would suit him just fine. He picked up the broom and made his way to pay when he ran into Ginny Potter.

"Malfoy." The only girl Weasley said to him. She had changed a lot since their days at Hogwarts. Draco remembered her being a small and shy little thing. She seemed to have grown into herself.

"She-Potter." Draco nodded in her direction.

"I'd like to thank you. For helping Hermione. It means a lot to us. We really care about her." Draco internally groaned. He didn't want any of their appreciation. It just felt odd.

"Just doing my job." It didn't escape Ginny that he didn't say you're welcome. It seemed manners were lost on him.

Ginny played for the Hollyhead Harpies since she finished school and felt that she could provide some of her broomstick knowledge to Draco as thanks, since he didn't seem to appreciate the verbal kind.

"You know the Nimbus 3000 is a much better model." She said, tilting her head in the direction of his broom.

"I'm aware. Thank you." Draco was well accustomed to knowing what was the best of the best. He just didn't want that anymore.

"So, why aren't you getting one? If it's the maker you favor, that's not even the most recent firebolt."

Before she could continue on, Draco interrupted her. "I said I'm aware. Thank you. This is the one I want." He stepped up to the counter, paying as quickly as he could before rushing out of the shop. He didn't need a Potter's advice. Ever.

Draco left Diagon alley and headed home. He didn't even fix anything for dinner before he slipped under his covers and fell asleep. It had been a very stressful day.

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. I started writing it right after I posted the last one and only read through it once. It's also 2:30 in the morning, so if there are any mess ups that I didn't catch, please let me know! Also, I'd love feedback, good or bad! Thanks!


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